


The Woes of Nature

by emblem_oracle



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Camping, Casual Displays of Affection, Established Relationship, M/M, Wrestling, playing cards
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-09
Updated: 2017-09-09
Packaged: 2018-12-25 17:57:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12041181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emblem_oracle/pseuds/emblem_oracle
Summary: Camping sucked when it rained.Or:Stuck in their tent during a thunderstorm, the boys scramble for ways to pass the time.





	The Woes of Nature

To survive camping for long periods at a time, it was important to get used to a few things.

The constant bugs, for one thing. Noctis had woken up more times than he could count to small spiders on his legs or flies on his forehead. The tent had no form of insulation, making it damn well freezing at night (Prompto had taken to wrapping all his jackets around his neck while he slept but even he woke up shivering).

It was always cramped. It was always damp. Their playing cards were always soggy in the mornings.

Yet, that was just when the weather was good. That said nothing about when it rained.

Camping sucked when it rained.

"Seems this thunderstorm isn't passing anytime soon," Ignis mused as thunder crackled around them. Wind beat furiously at the tent's sides. Prompto shoved a bag of groceries into the corner to prevent it lifting away.

"Good observation," Noctis said, studying his cards. "Gladio, got any eights?"

"Go fish."

Noctis picked a card up from the pile. The sides were dog eared and peeling from the moisture but they never had the thought to buy another deck.

Prompto glanced towards the tent entrance. It was zipped closed but the constant flash of lightning was clearly visible through the canvas. "Do you think we'll be okay out here? Like, the metal in the tent supports aren't going to get us electrocuted or something, right?"

"If they do, the pain won't be for long," Gladio said.

" _Dude!_  That's not helping!"

"You asked," Gladio said simply, moving a card in his hand. "Now just hurry up and ask already."

Prompto blinked. "Uh… Ignis, any fives?"

Ignis frowned as he passed three cards over to him. Prompto grinned with triumph.

"I can't imagine the pain would be any worse than his highness' misfired thunder spells," Ignis said blandly. "Do you have any threes, Gladio?"

"Nope."

Iggy picked up a card from the pile. Noctis glared at him. "Like it doesn't hurt when you misfire. I'm not exactly the only one who catches us all in it."

Gladio laughed, low and curt. "Your magic is stronger than Iggy's, highness, and it hurts a shit ton more too."

Noctis opened his mouth, a million different defences on his tongue, when Ignis placed his cards down. "Seems like I'm out."

Prompto awed, "It's less fun when someone goes out."

"My apologies," Ignis said, crossing his arms to watch.

Rain pounded a little harder on the canvas. Noctis glanced up at the ceiling and watched as rain drops left momentary shadows against the green. "How long do you think this is going to last?" He asked.

Ignis glanced down at his phone. "Well, it's twelve pm now and it hasn't shown signs of easing," he said. "It's likely we may not see the end of it till nightfall."

"So, looks like we're spending a day in the tent?" Prompto asked, handing Gladio a single ace.

Noctis rolled his eyes. "Wonderful."

* * *

 

By the time three pm rolled around, Noctis felt cold, hungry and just a little pissed off. He stared up at the ceiling - contemplating whether the amount Iggy would yell at him for sleeping would be worth the hours – and listened to the monotone drone of his friends' own boredom.

Not like he had much better things to do. His phone had died an hour ago.

"Ughh… dudes, this sucks," Prompto whined from his roll mat. He'd pulled the sleeping bag up to his neck and Noctis could only see the point of his blonde hair above the waterproof cover. "It's freezing! Iggy, can't we just go to a motel already?"

"Certainly." Prompto sat up in a shot, eyes wild with hope. Ignis stared at him. "That is, if you wish to work hunts in this weather to earn the gil."

Prompto fell back with a soft thud. "Awwww… Noct, buddy, could you call Ramuh or something? Ask him to work his magic?"

Noctis placed an arm over his forehead. If there was one thing more annoying than the weather, it was an annoyed Prompto. "Last I checked Ramuh doesn't control the weather."

"He did that one time," Prompto pointed out.

"That was an exception," Gladio said, not even looking up from his book. "Now stop bitching before I staple your mouth shut."

"But I'm  _bored,_ " Prompto prolonged the 'or' for way longer than necessary, "and the wind's making me nervous."

"Complaining isn't making it go away any faster," Gladio said.

"You're so mean," Prompto said, twisting himself so his head rested against Gladio's shoulder, sleeping bag falling to his waist. "Hayy, what are you reading?"

Gladio didn't reply. Prompto peered into the book, eyes scanning over a few lines, before he visibly grimaced. "Dude, that's so cheesy."

"And that's the reason I'm the romantic one in this relationship and you're not."

Prompto spluttered. "Hayy! I'm romantic!" He exclaimed, turning his head. "Noct, tell him I'm romantic!"

"He did get me flowers for my birthday last year," Noctis said, eyes still transfixed to the roof. "Lilies."

Gladio outright laughed. "Lilies? As in, the flowers associated with funerals?"

"Noct likes lilies!"

"His Highness prefers sylleblossoms to lilies," Ignis said.

"That's true," Noctis added, smirking.

"Oh, come on! You guys are the worst!" Prompto was pouting now. Gladio chuckled as he swung an arm around his shoulders, mumbling something along the lines of 'you could get a couple tips from this' while Prompto attempted to bat his hands away.

Ignis reached into his bag and pulled out a book (' _The Diplomacy and Dynamic of the Niflheim Empire'_ – sounds thrilling) and slowly began to read. Well, he seemed distracted enough. Noctis closed his eyes and listened to the pound of the rain, willing himself to sleep.

There were some more muttered conversations but Noctis could easily tune them out. He was pretty used to tuning things out. He'd apparently slept through a car crash earlier on in their trip and it didn't take long for everything to go quiet.

Then there was a sharp boot digging into his hip. "Noct, food's ready," Prompto said.

"Food?" He quirked open an eye. "How did Iggy swing that?"

Usually when it rained they ate in a diner someplace but they didn't even have the gil to swing that. Their cooker was also a no-go. They'd never get a fire going in this weather.

Gladio nudged him (more like kicked him) with his own foot. "Don't get your hopes up, highness."

Turned out, dinner was basically a sandwich… except without any of the things which made a sandwich enjoyable. Veg, veg, and more veg. Ignis even had the bright idea to throw in a raw tomato to spite him.

"Great," Noctis sighed, resigned. He looked at the powdered bun with the vegetable monstrosity in its centre and considered whether he could get away with throwing the salad outside and bathing the inside with salad cream.

He  _really_  hated camping in the rain.

* * *

 

Noctis had heard the story of how Prompto developed claustrophobia a couple of times.

Apparently, as a kid, the lock to his bathroom door had broken – trapping him inside for several hours. Combined with the fact that his bathroom growing up had been incredibly small (even by non-royal standards) he'd 'freaked out' and the fear had stuck ever since.

Noctis was used it by now. He'd seen Prompto have a panic attack because of it twice (both times in high school – not fun) but he was getting better. He'd gone into many tight spaces during their trip with as little panic as he was capable of.

But those times were brief. Not like being stuck in a cramped tent for hours.

"Are you alright?" Ignis asked him, lightly patting him on the back. Prompto's face had paled as the hours dragged on and he sat slightly hunched, face never so much as straying from the exit.

"Yeah," Prompto said, all the energy from the morning sapped away. "Just… feeling a little anxious."

"Do you want to step outside for a moment?" Ignis offered.

"In this weather? I'd probably be blown away," a weak laugh. "I'm sure… it will pass in a bit."

"If you're nervous you shouldn't wallow," Ignis said. Gladio brushed his hand across his freckled arm. "Is there anything we can do to help?"

Noctis sat up. "Want to lie here? It's closer to the exit," he asked.

"Um… if that's okay?" Prompto said carefully. Noctis nodded and scrambled to grab his phone.

It was always difficult to navigate the tent. It was so small they couldn't even kneel properly in it and two people couldn't exactly move much at the same time. Prompto clambered over Gladio with as much grace as humanly possible but he still managed to crash into the rollmat and Noct had to dive between Ignis and Gladio to stop a collision.

"Better?" Ignis asked after a moment. Prompto pulled at the zip.

"Yeah, much better," Prompto said, a weak smile to his lips. "Thanks, Noct."

"No worries."

Noctis shifted onto his back. Squashed between Gladio and Ignis, he felt extremely uncomfortable; especially since Gladio had claimed pretty much all of his space. He twisted himself in the hope of finding some comfort but with Gladio's leg to the back of his knee it just wasn't happening.

In the end he gave up and elbowed him in the chest. "Stop being a tent hog, Gladio, I need to breathe here."

"Not much I can do about that," Gladio said simply. "I'm big for your benefit princess."

There was a clash of thunder outside, louder from the-now slightly opened tent flap. Noctis huffed. "Really? Well, tell that to the elbow digging into my neck. Not exactly feeling the benefit here."

Gladio brushed his arm away. Noctis kicked him in the shin with his heel as revenge. "Knock it off, Noct," Gladio said, kicking him back.

"Move over and I will!"

"Hah, alright then highness, if that's how you want to play it," Gladio made a grab for his arms. Rolling to the side, Noctis turned to face him and the battle began.

He and Gladio often battled like this. They never hit hard enough for it to hurt but these brawls often turned into fights of pride.

Gladio fought to pin him down, using cheap shots and his greater size, while Noctis focussed more on keeping away while also avoiding rolling onto Iggy, hitting whenever he got the chance.

"Prompto, I'll pay you fifty gil to come back," Noctis ground out. Gladio finally managed to get a hold of his forearms. He yanked back.

"No can do, dude. Don't do take-backs," Prompto said, smiling slightly.

"And you don't have fifty gil," Gladio said.

"Gentlemen, would you please stop brawling?" Ignis said, a sigh in his tone. "We don't exactly have the space."

They ignored him. Gladio leaned forward, resting his full weight on Noctis' chest. He groaned as the air in his lungs dissolved to nothing. "There. Plenty of space now."

"Oh, come on!" Noctis gasped, wrestling to pry his arms away. His lungs felt like they were burning. He wiggled under him, accidentally kicking Prompto in the leg as he fought for freedom. "Damn, you're heavy!"

"Say sorry and I'll get off," Gladio said, a slight smirk on his lips. He pinned him down like it was nothing which only irritated Noctis more.

He fought a little harder. "Fuck that!"

"Highness!" Ignis scolded.

"Don't swear in front of mama Iggy," Prompto said. Noctis couldn't see him with Gladio's body in the way but he could hear the smile in his voice.

Gladio laid a kiss on his neck right where it tickled – just above his collarbone. Noctis fought away from it but couldn't move. "You sure about that, Noct?"

Noctis fought a little more, Gladio pressed another kiss to the nape of his neck.

It was only after another several dozen kisses, accidentally elbowing Ignis in the hip and swearing once more that he finally said, "Alright, alright fine! Sorry! Now get off."

"Wise choice," Gladio said, pressing another kiss to his jaw before sliding back onto his mat. "We'll make a King out of you yet."

Noctis grabbed his pillow and threw it at him. Gladio just laughed about his shit aim.

* * *

 

At around nine pm (after choking down another joke of a sandwich) the light outside the tent gradually began to dim, forcing them to use the precious little power their camp lights offered. The thunder seemed to have eased a little, with only the occasional rumble shaking the floor now. The rain, though, hadn't improved a bit.

"Sunshine, my only sunshine. You make me happy, when skies are grey~~~" Prompto sung quietly as he placed another card in his rickety card tower. Gladio smirked, eyeing it up like he was moments away from knocking it all down. Prompto watched him cautiously.

Noctis was about to let his eyes drift closed to attempt a third nap when Ignis nudged him. Sat in front of the camp light, the shadow he cast was long and dark. "Noct, if you're bored enough to sleep the day away, might I remind you that we need a plan for the morning?" He said, all lecturing.

"Isn't that  _your_ hobby?" Noctis said, wiping sleep out of his eyes. "You're my advisor. It's your job to make the plans."

"I may be your advisor but that doesn't mean you can't make the plans every now and again," Ignis said.

"Your plans are always better than mine though," Noctis said.

"Damn right," Gladio chuckled. Noctis kicked him in the shin.

Ignis coughed to draw his attention back. "Nevertheless, it's good to have experience with organisation. There will no doubt be times when you'll have to fare without me."

"Like when?"

Ignis gave him a look which was hard to place, obviously having thought of something, but he didn't answer. Noctis quirked a brow, a little curious about his hesitation. When a few more seconds ticked by with nothing, he repeated, "Like when, Iggy?"

Ignis sighed. "Like if you marry the Lady Lunafreya." Noctis grimaced.

He hadn't forgotten about his engagement, try as he might. He'd promised his old man he'd see the marriage through, even though he'd promised under the pretence of a peace treaty.

Noctis didn't know if he'd still be obliged to marry her after everything was over. It was just one of many things which hung over his head.

"Alright," Noctis ceded, "but you'll still be around even if that does happen."

Ignis frowned, "As King, you need to know how to make plans of your own."

"I know that," Noctis said, "but making plans are pretty simple."

"More experience couldn't hurt. As I said, there may come a time when I'm not around."

"Why would you not be around?" Noctis asked, not exactly thinking.

Ignis gave him a look. The same look he always used to give him whenever he complained about studying. One or two moments passed and Gladio turned to stare. Prompto's hand dropped from the card tower.

That's when it hit him.

Noctis frowned, hard and deep. "You shouldn't think things like that. It's bad luck."

"Regardless of luck, you must be prepared for every situation," Ignis said, holding his gaze.

"Well, I don't want to be prepared for  _that_  situation," Noctis said. Ignis didn't drop the look. Noctis pressed on, "So, don't even think about dying on me. Plan well enough so that doesn't happen.

"Highness—"

"That's an order," Noctis said, turning so his back faced him. "I'm sure you'll manage somehow."

Noctis couldn't see it but he heard Ignis sigh and mutter a 'very well' under his breath. Prompto looked at him with something like sympathy. Gladio's face was as impassive as ever.

Then, a pale handed reached down in front of him. Noctis took it and held it tight to his chest. There was silence between them all for a moment; the sound of rain almost relaxing without the crash of thunder.

"Aww dude! Why are you like this?" Prompto whined suddenly, gesturing to his knocked cards. Gladio just laughed at him.

* * *

At night, they had all gotten into the habit of…. Cuddling.

Not Noct's choice of words; that was what Prompto liked to call it. Gladio called it 'sleeping together.' Ignis called it 'sharing a bed – except without the bed.'

Noctis didn't know what to call what they did. If he had to describe it, he'd call it a mess of limbs and hair and faces. After a while it was always hard to tell whose foot was whose. Where everyone's head was.

It was nice though. Perhaps the worst thing about the motels were that they didn't have beds big enough for them all to squeeze into. The warmth was always comforting, especially in the days after his dad's death.

"I believe the rain is finally calming," Ignis mused, arms wrapped around Noctis' chest. Noctis pressed his lips to his hands, feeling oddly clingy.

True enough, the crash of rain which had surrounded them all day was starting to quieten done. Shame it only took until midnight.

"About time," Gladio said, fingers in Iggy's hair. His arms were long enough to reach over Noct's head with relative ease.

"Can we stay in a motel tomorrow?" Prompto asked, face mere inches from Noctis' own. "I think I've had enough camping to last me for this whole trip."

"We could work hunts in the morning?" Noctis suggested. "Not long till we arrive in Altissia anyway. We might be able to scrape together enough to cover our last nights."

"Sounds good," Prompto said cheerily, pressing his head into the pillow.

"Agreed," Ignis said. "I could do without the damp for a while."

Gladio hummed, perhaps the only one who would actually miss the fickle shelter the tent provided.

"Great!" Noctis said, closing his eyes, tired even after sleeping most of the day away.

He fell asleep pretty quickly after that.

* * *

 

The next morning, he woke up hot out of his mind. He creaked open an eye, staring up at the bright light bouncing off the green walls.

Prompto smiled at him, sitting crosslegged at the end of the mat. "Iggy was right. Seems like the storm's over."

Noctis stretched out his arms.

Finally.

**Author's Note:**

> Follow me over on tumblr ( oracleofthesix.tumblr.com ) if you so chooseth!


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